And I installed it early last week on two computers and haven’t had a problem.
I must be special.
Had to reinstall windows....and lost all my files..but it gets worse.
I reinstalled WINDOWS XP from one of THREE CDs in my office. I think MS thinks I am running a bootleg copy because the machine runs like crap now, the video monitor jumps...a real PITA.
Installed SP3 today without issue...
I experienced this issue with the first “official” release of XP SP3 from Microsoft. No problems with the released version so far. Here’s the fix for the reboot issue just in case, it worked perfectly on various machines for me:
“1. boot from a Windows CD and go for the repair option.
2. Copy gdi32.dll from c:\windows\servicepackfiles\i386\gdi32.dll to c:\windows\system32\gdi32.dll. (Do keep a backup copy of the old gdi32.dll in c:\windows\system32 directory)
3. Reboot normally
In Repair Mode
*just hit: “copy c:\windows\servicepackfiles\i386\gdi32.dll c:\windows\system32\gdi32.dll”
It should ask you to overwright, go ahead and hit “y”
Then just “exit”” (?)
I tried to install SP3 from the MajorGeek download.
It would get about 2/3 through and then error out with ‘access denied’ [no further details or information] and then uninstall SP3 and revert to SP2.
I finally found a list of various errors that ‘could’ arise while installing SP3 on Microsoft’s website. It included the ‘access denied’. It gave several possible solutions, including tweaking some code.
After seeing this article about the reboots, I am about to conclude that SP2 is working fine and I don’t think I will try to upgrade.
Just went into system and turned off automatic updates until the dust settles on another load of Mr. Bill’s crap. Thanks for the info.
What an innovative way to sell more copies of Vista....
This is not a Microsoft problem. It is not a Windows XP SP3 problem. It is an HP problem, and an AMD motherboard problem.
Any Windows image builder with half a brain knows that you don’t use the same OS image on two different hardware platforms — especially platforms as different as AMD vs. Intel — and not expect to have problems. Different CPUs, different northbridge and southbridge chipsets, different drivers. The knucklehead system builders over at HP screwed this one up, not Microsoft.
The second problem involves the A8N32-SLI motherboard. First, SLI chipsets are on the bleeding edge of enthusiast motherboards, and have been notorious for being touchy with certain hardware devices. This particular motherboard is not even on Microsoft’s HCL yet. Most likely either a chipset driver fix or a motherboard rev is in order, not a revision to SP3.
Headline writers for tech mags love to sensationalize these things, and anti-Microsoft people eat it up and spew it all over the Net as “proof” that Microsoft “goofed again.” The fact is, from all reports thus far, SP3 works just fine on anything but (a) a PC put together by some HP idiots who tried to cut corners on image building by using the same image for two different platforms, or (b) a bleeding edge ASUS SLI enthusiast motherboard.
I installed it yesterday. Only problem I got on reboot was losing my wireless connection which just took a quick fix. Didn’t really have time to check for any effects but the little bit of gaming I did afterwards, well, it seemed a bit slower. Maybe i’ll run a 3DMark test or something just to see if it’s just my imagination.
Windows XP, Service Pack 3, installed in about 30-35 minutes today,(Sunday, May 18) via a direct download from Microsoft Update. It works GREAT, and sped up my machine. You should update today!